Handheld vacuum cleaners are well known and have been manufactured and sold by various manufacturers for several years. Typically, a handheld vacuum cleaner comprises a casing which houses a motor and fan unit for drawing air into the cleaner via an inlet, and a separation device such as a filter or bag for separating dirt and dust from the incoming airflow. An example of such a vacuum cleaner is shown in GB1207278.
Handheld vacuum cleaners have more recently been developed to incorporate cyclonic separation systems which are capable of removing larger items of debris from the airflow before removing finer particles using a filter or other barrier means. An example of such a device is sold by Black & Decker under the trade name DUSTBUSTER®. Further examples of handheld vacuum cleaners incorporating cyclonic separators are shown in GB2035787A and WO2006/076363.
A disadvantage of known handheld vacuum cleaners which utilise cyclonic separators is that emptying the appliance of dirt and dust collected therein can be awkward, inconvenient and messy. In some cases, a compartment of the appliance must be physically removed from the rest of the appliance, transported to a suitable receptacle, emptied and then replaced on the appliance. Removal of a portion of the appliance inevitably carries with it a risk that the portion will not be replaced correctly and this can adversely affect the performance of the appliance. In other arrangements, the opening of the compartment in which the dirt and dust is collected involves awkward manipulation of the appliance as a whole. When the appliance has been designed for ease of handling during the cleaning operation, the emptying process can increase the risk of the appliance being inadvertently dropped and broken during emptying. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a handheld cleaning appliance which is easier and more convenient to empty than known handheld vacuum cleaners.